HIST302: Medieval Europe

Unit 8: Origins of the RenaissanceIn Italy during the late Middle Ages, the contours of a new cultural
movement—the Renaissance—began to emerge in urban centers such as Rome,
Venice, Florence, and Milan. Meaning “rebirth” in French, “the
Renaissance” refers to a growing interest in classical Greek and Roman
sources, an emphasis on realism in art, and educational reform.
Renaissance thinkers emphasized humanism—a moral philosophy that
considers humans to be of primary importance—in art, philosophy,
politics, science, and religion. This new interest in humanism
represented a gradual shift away from the focus on theology and
philosophy that had dominated European thought for centuries. By the
sixteenth century, Renaissance culture had spread to other regions of
Europe.

Unit 8 Time Advisory
This unit should take you approximately 10.5 hours to complete.

☐ Subunit 8.1: 3.5 hours

☐ Subunit 8.2: 3.5 hours

☐ Subunit 8.3: 3.5 hours

Unit8 Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

Discuss the medieval origins of the Renaissance.

Describe the social, political, and economic setting in Italy in the
fifteenth century and some of the developments that historians count
as especially important in encouraging the artistic and cultural
innovations associated with the Renaissance.

Explain and assess the arguments given by historians concerning the
influence of events such as the Great Plague and fall of
Constantinople on European culture and politics.

Identify the major achievements of the early Renaissance in Italy
and describe its spread to northern Europe.

Identify major themes in the work of important figures such as Durer
and Erasmus and explain how these reflect the spread of Renaissance
values and ideas.

Instructions: View the above map in conjunction with the lecture
above.

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displayed on the webpage above.

Lecture: University of California, Berkeley: Thomas Laqueur’s “The
Renaissance in Western History”
Link: University of California, Berkeley: Thomas Laqueur’s “The
Renaissance in Western
History”
(Flash)

Instructions: Watch Thomas Laqueur’s “The Renaissance in Western
History” for an overview of the places where the Italian renaissance
began. What were the political and social elements in medieval
Italy that led to the origins of the Renaissance?

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displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read "Commercial Exchange." As you read,
answer the following questions: what developments contributed to the
rise of a profit-based economy? How are these developments
reflected in new types of business associations and new
industries?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
15-20 minutes to complete.

Instructions: Read Bartolo of Sassoferrato’s “Treatise on City
Government” to understand how Italians thought about urban centers
and governments at the beginning of the renaissance.
Bartolo of Sassoferrato (1313–57) taught law at the University of
Perugia, and he was one of the fourteenth century’s most important
legal theorists.

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displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Read Machiavelli's "The Discourses" and "The Prince"
to learn about his theories about republican and princely
governments. Think about why he changed so much between the two
works.

"The Prince" is a political treatise written by Niccolò
Machiavelli, a Florentine political theorist, in the sixteenth
century. In an era of constant conflict among Italian city-states,
Machiavelli asserts that the greatest moral good is a virtuous and
stable state. Even if actions taken to preserve the state are
immoral, Machiavelli argues, they remain justified. The text, with
its “end justifies the means” pragmatism, had a deep impact on
Western philosophy.

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displayed on the webpages above.

Instructions: Please read "Responses to the Middle Ages.” As you
read, consider the following questions: what does the term
“renaissance” mean, and how has it been used to describe periods in
European history? What are the distinguishing features of the
period known as the Renaissance that began in Italy around 1350?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
15 minutes to complete.

Instructions: Read Petrarch's "Letter to Homer" for an explanation
of Petrarch's view of the relationship between renaissance humanism
and ancient authors.

Francesco Petrarch lived in the fourteenth century, but he wrote
many letters to famous Greeks and Romans who had been dead for
centuries. Homer wrote the Greek epic poems The Iliad and The
Odyssey by the middle of the eighth century BCE.

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displayed on the webpage above.

8.2.4 Unique Political and Social Climate in Italy
- Lecture: University of California, Berkeley: Thomas Laqueur’s “The
State as a Work of Art”
Link: University of California, Berkeley: Thomas Laqueur’s “The
State as a Work of
Art”
(Flash)

Instructions: View Thomas Laqueur’s “The State as a Work of Art”
for an overview of the development of renaissance political thought
in Italy.

Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use
displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read "Black Death." As you read, answer the
following questions: what was the Black Death, and how did it affect
the body? What were some of the immediate responses to the
pandemic? What long-term effects did it have on the population and
Europe?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
15 minutes to complete.

Instructions: Please read “Northern Renaissance.” As you read,
answer the following questions: which ideas traveled from Italy to
the rest of Europe during the period known as the Renaissance, and
how? In what ways were these ideas adapted to new contexts? What
are the main characteristics of the Northern Renaissance?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
20 minutes to complete.

Instructions: Read Erasmus’ “Julius Excluded from Heaven” to learn
about the foundations and ideals of Christian humanism. Think about
what criteria Erasmus/Peter is using to judge Pope Julius II.

Desiderius Erasmus (1466–1536) was a Dutch Catholic priest who took
issue with what he saw as corruption within the Catholic hierarchy.
He applied the humanist ideals of classical learning to Christian
texts and even created a new Greek edition of the New Testament.

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displayed on the webpage above.

Instructions: Please read "Art and Architecture.” As you read,
answer the following questions: which characteristics of the Italian
artistic style influenced northern artists? In what ways did
Albrecht Dürer adhere to the Italian model and ideas about the fine
arts and the artist? In what ways does he move beyond the Italian
model?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
20 minutes to complete.

Instructions: Please read "Politics and State-building.” As you
read, answer the following questions: what are the characteristics
of a sovereign state? In what ways did monarch try to merge their
person with the state? How did monarchs and governing assemblies
maintain and reinforce their authority?

Reading and answering the questions above should take approximately
20 minutes to complete.